Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: MMJ
Program Code: MMJ000004
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00:41 Shall we bow our heads for prayer?
00:42 Father in heaven we thank You for the opportunity 00:47 of opening Your Holy Word. 00:49 We ask that as we do, Your Holy Spirit will be with us 00:54 to guide our thoughts, and to give us understanding. 00:58 We thank You, Father, for hearing our prayer 01:02 for we ask it in the precious name of Jesus, Amen. 01:06 As we've seen in our previous lectures, the Bible has only a 01:15 limited number of things to say about Mary, the mother of Jesus. 01:20 In preparation for our study today it's necessary 01:25 to underline the fact that the Bible says nothing about where, 01:31 when, from whom, or how Mary was born. 01:37 We don't know the name of her parents, 01:41 and we don't know anything about her birth. 01:46 All we know is what Scripture has to say 01:50 about the birth of Jesus. 01:52 However, in Roman Catholic theology Mary is spoken of as 02:02 being different than us in two specific ways. 02:09 In fact in Roman Catholic theology, first of all, 02:13 it is taught that Mary was born immaculate. 02:18 In other words, she was born with the nature 02:21 of Adam before the fall. 02:24 She was born without a fallen human nature. 02:30 Secondly, in Roman Catholic theology we find the teaching 02:35 that Mary never actually committed any sin during 02:41 her life; no mortal sin and no venial sin. 02:46 And there are two reasons why the Roman Catholic Church 02:50 underlines these two ideas about Mary. 02:54 Why they teach that she was born without the fallen nature 02:59 of Adam, and why she never actually committed sin at all 03:05 during her lifetime. 03:06 And I would like to share with you, as we begin our study, 03:09 the two reasons why the Roman Catholic Church, 03:13 through its theologians primarily, 03:15 teaches these two ideas about Mary. 03:18 First of all I would like to read several statements from 03:24 the book, The Glories of Mary, of St. Alphonsus Liguori, 03:28 which we studied last time, and there might be a couple of 03:31 quotations also from other Roman Catholic sources as to why Mary 03:37 was born immaculate, and why she never sinned, 03:41 even though the Bible does not address this issue. 03:44 The first quotation is found in The Glories of Mary, page 295, 03:50 where we are told this: 04:06 I think that's pretty clear. 04:08 Once again, but how could Jesus Christ be said to be separated 04:12 from sinners if He had a mother who was a sinner? 04:17 On page 296 of, The Glories of Mary, St. Bridget is quoted 04:24 in the following fashion: 04:38 We're discovering that the reason why, in Roman Catholic 04:42 theology, Mary is spoken of as being born immaculate is 04:46 because if she wasn't she could not bring the immaculate 04:50 Jesus into the world. 04:52 On page 297 of the book, The Glories of Mary, 04:57 we find this statement: 05:16 Again on page 297 we find this statement: 05:38 Maybe two or three other statements, because this is 05:42 such an important point. 05:43 Mary had to be born immaculate in order to bring an immaculate 05:48 Son into the world. 05:50 So goes the argument. 05:51 On page 311 of the book, The Glories of Mary, 05:55 we find St. Peter Damian quoted, and he says this: 06:12 In other words, she had the nature of Adam before Adam 06:17 sinned, so that Jesus, in this view, could also be born 06:23 with the nature of Adam before Adam sinned. 06:27 Once again, The Glories of Mary, page 299, 06:32 we find this statement: 06:43 Those are the less serious sins. 07:03 In other words, Jesus the Perfect One, could not have a 07:06 mother who was a sinner in actual fact, 07:10 by committing actual sins, or by by having 07:14 the sinful nature of Adam. 07:17 One final quotation from a pamphlet published by the 07:20 Knights of Columbus. 07:22 The title of the pamphlet is, The Mother of Jesus, page 25. 07:27 Notice this statement: 07:48 It can't get any clearer than that. 07:51 Mary had the nature of Adam and Eve before the fall. 07:58 In other words, she was not born with a sinful nature, 08:02 and she never committed sin. 08:04 Now the first reason that we've noticed why the Roman Catholic 08:08 Church teaches that she had to be born immaculate, 08:11 and she could not have sinned, is because she had to be so 08:15 in order to bring into the world a Son who had the same 08:19 characteristics; who would not suffer the results of her sin 08:24 or of the nature of the sinful Adam. 08:27 But there's a second reason why Roman Catholic theology teaches 08:31 that Mary was born immaculate, and she actually 08:35 lived without committing sin, and that is in Roman Catholic 08:41 theology Mary died, and she remained in the tomb 08:47 for three days. Her body saw no corruption. 08:50 And then on the third day she was assumed to heaven. 08:54 And we're going to talk more about the dogmas about Mary 08:58 in Roman Catholicism a little bit later on in this series. 09:01 But they believe that Mary presently is standing before 09:07 her Son, and she is serving as advocate of the human race. 09:12 And, of course, there is no way that Mary could serve as the 09:17 advocate of the human race if she had been conceived in sin 09:22 and if she actually committed sin, because the righteousness 09:26 of Christ would destroy her. 09:28 Allow me to read you a couple of statements here 09:32 from Roman Catholic theologians. 09:34 This is from St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary, 09:37 page 293. He's quoting St. Anselm. 10:02 He also quotes St. Gregory. 10:05 And this is where you come to the specific point about Mary 10:09 not being able to serve as advocate of the human race 10:12 if she actually committed sin. 10:14 This is found in St. Alphonsus Liguori, page 289. 11:07 So first she had to be born immaculate, and live a life 11:12 without sin, because Jesus was going to come from her, 11:17 and He was going to have the same nature. 11:19 And secondly, in Roman Catholic theology, she was going to serve 11:24 as the mediatress, or the advocate of the human race, 11:27 and a sinner could not appear before the presence of God 11:31 to represent humanity. 11:33 In actually fact, the Bible teaches that we have a mediator 11:40 in heaven, Jesus Christ our high priest, who is sinless, 11:45 undefiled, and perfect, and therefore can 11:49 represent us before God. 11:50 You can read Hebrews 7:26. 11:54 It says that Jesus was separated from sinners. 11:57 Nowhere in the Bible will you find that Mary was born without 12:03 the fallen nature of Adam, and that she never actually 12:07 committed sin in her life. 12:08 This comes into the church as a result purely 12:12 of human tradition. 12:13 The Bible speaks about the birth and sinlessness of Jesus. 12:17 It does not speak about the birth and the sinless of Mary. 12:21 Now in other venues we have studied about the antichrist. 12:27 And I'm not going to get into a full study of the antichrist 12:30 in our lecture today. 12:32 We've studied, for example, about the little horn, 12:36 about the beast, about the harlot of Revelation 17, 12:40 the man of sin of 2 Thessalonians 2. 12:44 We've studied basically all of the antichrist passages 12:50 of Scripture previously. 12:52 And we've noticed several characteristics 12:55 about the antichrist. 12:56 It persecutes the saints of the Most High. 13:00 It speaks blasphemies against the Most High, in other words it 13:03 claims to have the power to forgive sins. 13:06 It claims to have God's representative on earth. 13:10 We noticed that this power rules for 1,260 years 13:15 after the Roman Empire is divided into ten kingdoms. 13:19 We noticed several characteristics 13:22 about the antichrist. 13:23 But there is one characteristic which is not contained in any 13:27 of these antichrist passages, like Revelation 13, 13:31 and Daniel 7, and Daniel 11, and Revelation 17, 13:37 and 2 Thessalonians 2. 13:38 There's one characteristic which is found in another passage 13:42 of the apostle John. 13:45 I would like to read that passage. 13:48 It's found in 1 John 4:1-3, 1 John 4:1-3. We're told here: 14:15 Now how can you test a spirit to see whether it's of God? 14:19 How can you understand whether a prophet truly speaks for God? 14:24 Notice verse 2: 14:40 And then verse 3 becomes even more explicit. 15:03 Every spirit that doesn't confess that Jesus Christ 15:07 has come in the flesh, according to this passage, is not only not 15:12 of God, but actually possesses the spirit of the antichrist. 15:18 And that's the reason why in John 1:14 we are told that: 15:39 In other words, Scripture tells us that Jesus came to this world 15:43 and He took flesh of our flesh, bone of our bones. 15:47 He took blood of our blood. 15:49 He became like one of us. 15:52 And according to this passage, anyone who does not believe 15:57 or teach that Jesus came in the flesh, cannot be of God. 16:01 In fact, this is the spirit of the antichrist. 16:05 Now the lecture today is not primarily about Mary. 16:10 The lecture today is primarily about Jesus. 16:14 But we had to introduce the lecture by speaking about Mary 16:19 because in Roman Catholic theology the idea is that Mary 16:23 was born with the unfallen nature of Adam, so that Jesus 16:28 could be born with the unfallen nature of Adam. 16:31 You know, a question which people ask me very frequently 16:36 is, do you believe that Jesus took the nature of Adam before 16:41 the fall, or do you believe that Jesus took the nature 16:44 of Adam after the fall? 16:46 And, of course, they want to work you into a corner. 16:49 And basically what I say is, I don't believe that Jesus took 16:54 the nature of Adam before the fall, and I don't believe that 16:59 Jesus took the nature of Adam immediately after the fall. 17:03 I believe that Jesus took the nature of Adam after the fall, 17:10 the nature of the Adam who was born again after he sinned. 17:16 In other words, Jesus took the regenerated 17:19 sinful nature of Adam. 17:21 In other words, Jesus did not come to this world with a 17:27 sinful nature of someone who had not been born again, 17:30 someone who had not been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. 17:33 It would have been impossible for Jesus to overcome, 17:37 so Scripture, I believe, teaches that Jesus took the nature 17:40 of the sinful Adam after Adam had been converted to God 17:45 after he committed his sin. 17:48 There's a passage that we find in Romans 8, 17:53 which is very significant. 17:54 And I would like to read several verses at the 17:57 beginning of Romans 8. 18:00 Actually, in this passage what is being done is there's a 18:06 comparison between Jesus, who came in the likeness of sinful 18:12 flesh, but through the Spirit lived a spiritual life of 18:15 victory over sin, and His followers who also 18:20 have a sinful nature, and by the power of the Holy Spirit 18:22 and by the power of the Holy Spirit, 18:24 they also overcome sin. 18:27 In other words, a parallel is being drawn between Jesus, 18:31 who took the likeness of sinful flesh, and by the power of the 18:36 Spirit gained the victory over sin, 18:38 and what should happen with His followers who have 18:41 a sinful nature, and through the power of the Holy Spirit 18:45 also can overcome sin in their lives? 18:48 Allow me to read this passage, and I'll explain a few 18:52 things as we go along. 19:05 Now are you following what this is saying? 19:08 Do we have flesh? Were we born in the flesh? 19:11 Of course we were. 19:13 But do we walk according to the flesh if we've been born again? 19:16 Absolutely not! 19:26 See, that's talking about the new birth. 19:29 Then we find in verse 3: 19:35 In other words, because of our fleshly sinful nature 19:39 the law could do nothing but what? but condemn us. 19:43 So the law could not save us. So it says: 20:08 According to this. 20:09 Let me ask you, did Jesus come in your and our flesh? 20:15 He most certainly did. 20:16 Did He battle with sin in that flesh? 20:19 He most certainly did. 20:21 But who guided and controlled His life? 20:23 The Spirit guided and controlled His life. 20:26 And He gained the total and complete victory over sin. 20:30 Now let me ask you, Is that a possibility 20:34 for the followers of Jesus? 20:36 It most certainly is. 20:38 Lets continue reading. 20:39 Verse 4. That the righteous requirement of the law might 20:45 be fulfilled in us. 20:47 See, now it goes on to speak about us. 20:49 Might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, 20:54 but according to what? the Spirit. 20:56 As Jesus had the likeness of sinful flesh, but lived by the 21:01 power of the Spirit, we also in sinful flesh, 21:04 can live by the power of the Spirit. 21:07 That's the argument of the apostle Paul. 21:09 Notice once again verse 4, That the righteousness requirement 21:13 of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according 21:17 to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 21:19 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds 21:23 on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the 21:27 Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 21:28 Do you see the two modes of living? 21:31 You can live in the flesh, or you can live in the Spirit. 21:33 Jesus had the likeness of sinful flesh, but in sinful flesh 21:39 He lived by the power of whom? of the Holy Spirit. 21:43 Can we also have sinful flesh and live in the power 21:46 of the Holy Spirit in our lives? Certainly. 21:49 Verse 6. For to be carnally minded... 21:52 By the way, that word carnally is the same as flesh. 21:54 It's the same word for flesh in Greek. 21:57 So you could say, for the fleshly mind is death: 22:02 but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 22:06 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: 22:09 for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 22:14 So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 22:18 Let me ask you, was Jesus born in the likeness of sinful flesh 22:22 with a human nature that had not been regenerated by the power 22:25 of the Holy Spirit? Absolutely not! 22:27 Jesus could not have overcome, because He would have been 22:31 at enmity against the law of God. 22:33 There would be no way that He could obey if He simply 22:36 inherited sinful flesh. 22:38 He inherited sinful flesh regenerated by the power 22:42 of the Holy Spirit. 22:43 And then the apostle Paul says, But you are not in the flesh,... 22:48 Although we are. You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, 22:53 if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. 22:57 Now if anyone does not have the Spirit 23:00 of Christ, he is not His. 23:03 So Jesus took the nature of Adam after the fall, 23:08 the likeness of sinful flesh. 23:10 But through the power of the Holy Spirit 23:12 He overcame sin in His life. 23:15 He never committed even one sin in the sight of God. 23:20 Now lets notice a few other texts from the New Testament. 23:25 Hebrews 4:15. Go with me to Hebrews 4:15. 23:32 Did Jesus overcome sin as Adam before his fall, 23:39 or did Jesus come with the nature of Adam after the fall? 23:45 Well, I believe that Hebrews 4: 15 explains that Jesus 23:51 identifies with us more than He identifies 23:54 with the pre-fall Adam. Notice: 23:57 Adam's weaknesses. 24:04 Is that what it says? 24:07 That's not what it says. 24:08 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our.. 24:18 Adam was, yet without sin. 24:21 It says that He was tempted in all things as what? as we are, 24:26 yet without sin. His connection, and His link is with us. 24:33 Notice also Hebrews 2:14, Hebrews 2:14. 24:42 In as much then as the children,... That's us. 24:47 ...have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise 24:55 shared in the same; that through death He might destroy him 25:01 who had the power of death, that is, the devil. 25:05 Because the children had flesh and blood, He also partook 25:10 of what? He also partook of the same. 25:15 Notice Hebrews 2:11, 12, Hebrews 2:11, 12. It says: 25:36 Notice that God is going to bring many sons to glory. 25:45 God the Father is actually going to bring many sons to glory, 25:48 and He's going to use the captain of salvation to bring 25:51 those sons to glory. 25:53 Now notice verse 11. 26:12 Who calls us brethren? God the Father or Jesus? 26:16 According to this text it is Jesus. 26:17 So you notice that the Father actually uses Jesus as the 26:22 captain of our salvation to bring many sons to glory. 26:26 But God has a Son also. 26:28 And the sons are brothers and sisters of the Son. 26:32 Now notice once again verse 11. 26:35 For both He who sanctifies, and those who are being 26:38 sanctified are all of one: for which reason He is not 26:42 ashamed to call them brethren, 26:54 Because the brothers had flesh and blood, 26:57 He partook of the same. 26:59 Here we find that Jesus calls those who have joined 27:04 Him His brethren. 27:05 Now let me ask you, Is everyone in this world a brother 27:09 and a sister of Jesus? No. 27:13 This is a technical term which refers to those who have 27:18 been born with sinful flesh, but who have accepted 27:22 Jesus as Savior, have joined Him, and have become 27:25 His brothers and sisters through conversion. 27:28 Notice Mark 3:35, Mark 3:35. 27:35 The definition of Jesus as our brother. 27:39 And who are the brothers of Jesus? 27:42 It says here in Mark 3:35, Jesus is speaking: 27:50 Could a common, ordinary, unconverted 27:54 person do the will of God? Of course not. 28:01 According to Jesus what? 28:09 Notice that the word brother means someone who has been 28:13 converted and does the will of God. 28:15 So what does the Bible mean when it says that Jesus 28:18 became like His brethren? 28:19 In fact, let's read it in Hebrews 2:17, 18. 28:25 Did Jesus come to this world with the unregenerateD nature 28:29 of a thief, and a murderer, and a drunkard? 28:33 Of course not. He came to this world with a nature 28:37 like the nature His brethren possess when they 28:41 are converted to Jesus. 28:43 Notice Hebrews 2:17, 18. 28:49 How many things? What does the word all mean? 28:56 Do we need to debate the meaning of the word all? 29:09 How did Jesus come to this world? 29:13 He came into this world as what? as His brethren. 29:18 Are His brethren the converted or the unconverted? 29:21 The converted. 29:42 I'd like to read a series of statements, 29:45 very interesting statements, that we find in different 29:48 sources on this aspect of the nature of Christ. 29:52 The first one is found in Signs of the Times, May 16, 1895. 29:58 And the writer of this statement, of course, 30:00 is Ellen White. She says this: 30:03 She grasped what the Bible was talking about. 30:29 We think of Jesus as being too aloof of us. 30:32 And, by the way, in Roman Catholic theology Jesus is 30:36 aloof. That's the reason you have to go through Mary 30:41 to Jesus, because Mary is the human. 30:43 Mary is the loving mother. 30:45 Mary is the merciful mother. 30:47 Jesus is different than us. 30:50 See, He's the one who meets out justice 30:54 in Roman Catholic theology. 30:55 She continues saying: this is because... 30:59 The reason why we look at Jesus this way. 31:01 This is because we do not take in the fact of 31:06 His oneness with humanity. 31:09 Why do we think that Jesus can't sympathize with our 31:11 frailties and our weaknesses? 31:12 Because we don't realize that He is what? one with humanity. 31:43 That is a powerful statement. 31:45 Jesus can sympathize with us. 31:48 We can know that He understands us in our frailties, 31:52 and in our weaknesses. 31:53 And the power which He had to overcome is the same power that 31:56 we can have to overcome. 31:58 There is no excuse, in other words, for sin. 32:01 We can't say the devil made me do it. 32:04 My weak sinful flesh made me do it. 32:07 Is that the excuse that we're going to render God when we 32:11 get before His judgment seat? 32:14 Oh, you know, the flesh was too weak. 32:16 Do you know what Jesus is going to say? 32:18 But My Spirit was very strong. 32:20 See when you say that we can't overcome sin, you're not saying 32:25 that the flesh is weak, what you're saying is that God is not 32:28 powerful enough to give us the victory over sin. 32:31 You're saying that the flesh is more powerful 32:33 than the power of God. 32:37 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 32:38 Now notice once again another statement. 32:41 General Conference Bulletin, February 25, 1895. 32:45 Powerful statement. 32:57 Whose place did He take? 33:30 That is Adam. 33:56 Another statement in the Adventist Review and Sabbath 34:00 Herald, February 24, 1874. 34:14 Is that clear? Only by taking the place of whom? fallen Adam. 34:40 In the Youth's Instructor, December 20, 1900 34:45 we find this amazing statement. She says: 35:04 That's a powerful statement. Once again: 35:13 But He had the Spirit in His life. 35:15 And His Spirit gave Him the victory even over sinful flesh. 35:20 In other words, Jesus lived a perfect life in sinful flesh, 35:24 because He allowed the Spirit to dictate 35:27 the decisions of His life. 35:29 She continues saying: 35:37 Have you ever read the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1? 35:42 Whom did Jesus descend from? 35:47 He descended from Abraham the liar. 35:51 He descended from Jacob the supplanter. 35:58 He descended from David the adulterer. 36:02 He descended from Rahab the harlot. 36:06 He descended from Ruth the Mohabitest. 36:09 She wasn't a bad lady, but she wasn't even an Israelite. 36:12 He descended from Manassa, one of the worst 36:17 and most wicked kings in the history of Israel. 36:20 And he also descended from Amon, 36:22 who was even worse than Manassa. 36:25 Jesus, in other words, received by heredity the characteristics 36:32 that these ancestors possessed. 36:35 He came with the likeness of sinful flesh, 36:38 but by the power of God, he overcame sin in sinful flesh. 36:44 You know, that is an extraordinary miracle of God, 36:48 that Jesus depended on divine power to overcome sin. 36:53 In that classic book, The Desire of Ages, page 49, 36:59 we find this amazing statement: 37:16 Are you digesting that part of that statement? 37:21 Did Jesus come with the unfallen nature of Adam 37:25 as it was in the garden of Eden? No. She says: 37:37 Here's the but. 38:20 Let me ask you, if Jesus came with a different nature than we 38:23 have, His brethren, His regenerated, 38:26 converted brethren. 38:27 If Jesus had a different nature than us, could He ever ask us 38:31 to follow His example? Absolutely not! 38:34 If Jesus had powers and resources that we do not have 38:38 access to, He could not ask us to overcome as He overcame. 38:42 You know, I use this example. 38:44 Supposing that Superman did exist, 38:46 and we know that he doesn't exist, of course. 38:48 And that he appeared here at the back door and he said, 38:51 Hello folks, how are you all doing this wonderful 38:54 Sabbath afternoon? 38:55 And then he says, Watch me! 39:00 And he says not only watch me, he says, follow me, 39:05 and he flies off into the heavens. 39:07 What would you say? 39:10 You'd say, Now wait a minute! 39:11 Follow me? Why couldn't we follow him? 39:13 Because he has powers that we don't have. 39:17 How could Jesus say, Follow Me, if Jesus had powers that we 39:23 do not have access to, if Jesus had a superior nature 39:27 to the nature that we receive when we are born again through 39:31 the power of the Holy Spirit? 39:32 Incidentally, Ellen White is not the only one who teaches 39:37 that Jesus took the nature of Adam after the fall, 39:40 after it had been regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit. 39:43 Debateably the greatest theologian of the twentieth 39:47 century was called Carl Barth. 39:49 Maybe you haven't heard of him, but he wrote a series of books 39:52 called Church Dogmatics. 39:54 And this is what Carl Barth had to say about which nature 39:58 Jesus took upon Himself. 40:18 He continues saying: 40:48 Powerful statement by a theologian who is not 40:53 a Seventh-day Adventist. 40:54 And there are also other theologians who have similar 40:58 statements to this statement. 41:00 Now I'd like to read a couple of verses which have been greatly 41:05 debated by theologians. 41:07 And you know, they've tried to fix the translation by saying, 41:10 you know, that a person who is born of God does not continue 41:14 habitually to sin. 41:15 You know, they do all kinds of trying to fix the text. 41:20 But I want to read this statement as 41:22 it's found in the Bible. 41:23 1 John 3:8, 9, 1 John 3:8, 9. 41:30 Here John, the beloved disciple of Jesus says this: 41:55 And now notice this: 42:01 Is that talking about conversion? those who are 42:05 born of the water and of the Spirit? Absolutely! 42:15 Remember that! 42:21 And immediately when I read that, the first question that 42:24 comes to the minds of people, Well, Pastor Bohr, 42:26 are you perfect? And my answer is always, Far from it! 42:33 But listen, the reason I am not perfect is not because God 42:39 doesn't have the power to give me the victory and to make me 42:42 perfect, it's because I don't meet the conditions. 42:46 It's because I don't constantly come close to Jesus, 42:50 abide in Jesus, remain in Jesus. 42:53 In other words, it's no lack of the power of God; it's a lack of 42:58 submitting to Jesus as my Savior, and as my Lord. 43:02 And, by the way, the possibility of perfection does not hinge 43:06 on whether I am perfect or not. 43:08 It hinges on whether God has the power to make me perfect or not. 43:13 Notice 2 Peter 1:4. 43:18 Let me ask you, Did Jesus have access to the power of the 43:23 divine nature to overcome sin in His humanity? 43:27 Did Jesus have divine power? Yes, He did. 43:30 Did God give Him divine power to overcome sin in His life? 43:35 Constantly! Yes! He was born of the Spirit. 43:38 He actually grew up in the Spirit. 43:40 He was baptized by the Spirit. 43:42 He ministered by the Spirit. 43:43 He died by the Spirit. 43:45 He was resurrected by the Spirit. 43:47 In other words, the Spirit was in total control of His life 43:50 from beginning to end. 43:51 And so it can be with us if we meet the same conditions. 43:55 Notice 2 Peter 1:4. 44:06 What has God given us? He has... 44:15 Who is you? That's us! Yes! 44:34 Can we have a divine nature? 44:36 Can we receive the power of the divine nature of Jesus? 44:40 Yes, we can! Can it lead our human nature to overcome 44:45 the power of sin? Absolutely! 44:48 You know, we all know about the ladder which is mentioned 44:54 in actually two places in Genesis 28, and also John 1. 45:01 That ladder is Jesus. 45:04 We've already noticed that in Roman Catholic theology 45:06 the ladder is Mary. 45:07 She's the bridge between heaven and earth. 45:10 Because Jesus is really the advocate of justice. 45:13 Mary is the advocate of mercy. 45:16 Well, my Bible tells me that Jesus is the advocate of mercy, 45:19 and He's also the advocate of justice. 45:22 Now you say, Why can't Mary be the advocate? 45:27 Why can't she be the ladder? 45:28 It's very, very simple. 45:30 The ladder, we are told, was planted firmly on the earth. 45:34 And the top of the ladder reached the highest heaven. 45:38 The ladder actually represents the two natures that Jesus had. 45:43 Jesus had the human nature. 45:46 In other words, He was established on earth, 45:49 but the ladder reached to the highest heaven, 45:51 which means that He was God. 45:53 He was God, and He was man. 45:56 Therefore He could be the ladder, because He has 45:58 the top and the bottom. 46:00 The problem with Mary is that Mary is only human. 46:03 The problem is with the top of the ladder. 46:07 Only one who is God can represent us before God. 46:11 And only one who is man can adequately present 46:14 our case before God. 46:16 In other words, Jesus is the bridge between heaven and earth. 46:19 And as Jesus overcame sin in His sinful nature, 46:23 through the power of the divine nature, Scripture 46:27 in 2 Peter 1:4 says that we can have the divine nature, 46:30 and we can also overcome sin. 46:33 Basically, the idea of the immaculate conception, 46:38 and the idea that Jesus came into this world through Mary, 46:42 who was immaculate, and therefore she brought Jesus 46:47 into the world immaculate, is that it separates Mary 46:51 and Jesus from us. 46:53 It primarily separates Jesus from us. 46:55 There's a broken link between Jesus and us. 46:59 In other words, He had a different nature than we have. 47:01 What hope is there for us to overcome as He overcame? 47:05 What hope is there for us to follow His example, 47:08 if He had a different nature than we have, 47:11 than His brothers and His sisters have? 47:13 So you see that this idea of the immaculate conception of Mary, 47:18 and therefore bringing Jesus immaculately with the nature 47:21 of Adam before the fall into the world, 47:23 has serious theological implications. 47:25 The implications are whether you are able to overcome sin 47:30 or not in your life. 47:33 Now notice this statement from The Desire of Ages, that classic 47:37 book on Jesus, the Redeemer of the world. 47:41 It's actually a beautiful biography of Jesus. 47:43 Pages 311 and 312. 48:08 Now what does it mean that it needed to reach the earth 48:13 to the last step? Now she explains: 48:22 Not where Adam was. 48:34 Isn't that wonderful? 48:37 And then she quotes Romans 8. 49:09 You say, Well, Pastor that is an impossible goal. 49:13 So what you're saying is that God gives us 49:15 impossible goals to reach. 49:17 He says, be perfect, but I know that you really can't. 49:21 Is that the way God operates? Absolutely not! 49:25 You know that very famous text. 49:30 It's one of my favorites. 49:31 Philippians 4:13. We've quoted that one before. That text says: 49:39 I can do most things through Christ who strengthens me. 49:44 Lets try again. I can do some things through 49:51 Christ who strengthens me. 49:53 No! The text says: I can do all things except overcome sin 49:59 through Christ who strengthens me. 50:01 That's not what the text says. 50:04 The text says that we can do all things through 50:08 Christ who strengthens us. 50:10 In other words, we can overcome sin by the power that God 50:15 gives us in Jesus Christ. 50:17 We also, in the likeness of sinful flesh, if we depend 50:22 upon God as Jesus depended upon His Father, we can be more 50:26 than overcomers through Jesus Christ who loved us 50:30 and gave His life for us. 50:31 The reason why we haven't reached that goal is because 50:36 we do not fulfill the conditions of abiding in Jesus. 50:40 Abide in Me and I in you. 50:44 When we submit ourselves to Jesus every moment, every day, 50:48 and the Holy Spirit leads our life, we gain victory over sin. 50:52 But the trouble is we're dedicating so much time 50:54 in front of the television. 50:56 Do you actually think that that's going to give 50:59 us victory over sin? 51:00 We dedicate so much of our time to running to and fro, 51:05 in things that are not bad in themselves. 51:07 You know, in our work we're so busy. 51:10 We're so caught up in the routine of life that we barely 51:13 have time to even think about Jesus in the course 51:16 of our daily activities. 51:17 And, of course, if we're not in tune with Jesus at every moment 51:21 of every day, there's not going to be victory over sin. 51:25 I would like to bring my remarks to a conclusion by reading 51:30 an amazing statement. 51:32 This statement is found in The Great Controversy, page 623, 51:37 and it's shaken up more than one person, I must warn you. 51:42 Listen to this: Now... when? Now. 51:49 That was a weak now, but that's alright. 52:05 And now notice how she describes the perfection of Jesus. 52:19 Not even by what? Not even by a thought 52:25 could Jesus be brought to yield... 52:27 And then she goes to speak about us. She says: 52:43 See that? Some sinful desire is cherished? 52:51 Where's the problem? 52:53 We cherish sin. And what does sin do? 52:56 It asserts it's what? its power. 52:58 She continues saying: 53:28 And now comes the amazing conclusion of this statement. 53:45 Ellen White says this: 53:46 That's an amazing statement! 53:47 Not even in what? Not even in thought, Ellen White says, 53:54 could Jesus be felled by the power of the enemy; 53:56 much less in action. 53:59 And she says that this is the condition in which God's people 54:03 will be found who will go through the time of trouble; 54:07 the time of trouble such as the world has never 54:11 seen in its history. 54:13 Where God's people will face the death decree. 54:17 Where God's people will go through the experience of 54:20 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 54:21 You know, this is one of my favorite stories of Scripture. 54:24 Let me ask you, was the strength and the loyalty of these three 54:30 young men fixed in their minds? Yes, it was. 54:34 Had they grown in sanctification? 54:36 You know, you read the first chapter. 54:39 In the first chapter their lives were not in danger. 54:42 The cook's life was, because if they were skinny, 54:47 and they were weak, Nebuchadnezzar was going to 54:49 say to the cook, Hey, how come these guys are skinny? 54:52 And why isn't their minds working the way 54:53 it's supposed to work? 54:54 You know, their lives were not in danger. 54:58 But they decided that they would remain loyal to God. 55:02 They would be faithful. 55:03 They would be obedient to God. 55:04 And so they asked for water, and they asked for pulse, 55:09 or for vegetables to eat. 55:11 They made their decision in a small trial, in a small test. 55:15 And they made that the model of their life. 55:17 Conquer in the small things that when the great trials come 55:21 we can also overcome. 55:23 And so then we're told that they had to face 55:26 a much great trial. 55:28 And they had grown in their spiritual experience. 55:31 In fact, we're told in Daniel 3 that they faced 55:36 the image of the beast. 55:38 As Nebuchadnezzar for awhile, lived as a beast, you know. 55:41 So he raises up an image. 55:42 He commands everyone to worship the image which he has raised. 55:47 And whoever does not worship the image will be killed. 55:50 And there's a small remnant that says, We will not worship. 55:53 Let me ask you, Is this a pre-figuring 55:55 of the time of trouble? 55:56 It most certainly is. 55:57 You know Revelation 13. 55:59 It says in Revelation 13 that the beast will raise his image. 56:03 He will command everyone to worship the image to the beast. 56:07 And whoever does not worship will be what? will be killed. 56:10 Is God going to have a people who will stand and will say, 56:15 We will be faithful to God though the heavens fall. 56:19 Though we lose our lives, we will be faithful to the Lord. 56:23 Absolutely! Because they have grown in sanctification. 56:27 If you want to read a fantastic little book, 56:29 it's one of the less famous books of Ellen White. 56:31 It's called The Sanctified Life. 56:33 Beautiful little book! 56:35 It deals with Daniel. 56:37 It deals with John the apostle, one of the sons of thunder. 56:40 If you want to see how he grew in grace, and in the knowledge 56:43 of Jesus. It's amazing how it's described in that book. 56:46 So it's time for us to get down to business folks. 56:49 This idea of the immaculate conception is really 56:52 an immaculate deception, because it separates Jesus from us. 56:58 It breaks the link between Jesus and us, because it makes Jesus 57:02 different than us. 57:04 So Mary had to be different so that Jesus could be different. 57:08 And a different Jesus cannot help us in the plight in which 57:13 we are found now. 57:16 So may God bless us and help us, through His power, 57:21 to gain the victory over sin. |
Revised 2015-03-19